[abelardlindsay]

So Steorn is showing up in London tomorrow to demo their free energy device that they announced last year.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0704/steorn.html

Does anyone in London want to go to the demo and give us their impressions?

[bobcousins]

I might drop in, but there is not much to see apparently. There will be a webcam, so if that works, there may not be much point in going, unless to get a free t-shirt.

The problem with magnet motors is that takes an extended run before it can be shown that the energy is not simply coming from the magnets being degraded. Unfortunately, Steorn have made the claim that magnets in the device get stronger, which makes their device even more unlikely

I think we will get a more interesting conclusion from the jury of scientists that are investigating the device, if it gets published.

[JRP3]

I'll give them this, they certainly are confident buggers and they've got balls challenging the scientific community to examine their technology. I'm skeptical of course, but I also don't believe we have all the answers as of yet.

Link to video:
http://www.astream.com/live/steorn/camera4.html

Nothing there as of yet, at least on my computer.

[kevincarter]

I can't see nothing either, just a funky shot from camera 4 (some London's fun fair or something like that?). Cameras 1, 2 and 3 go to "Can't find the page", not very scientific yet.

[JRP3]

Seems to be much confusion as to when this is actually supposed to start, i.e. EST, GMT?
http://www.steorn.com/forum/comments.ph ... 617&page=1

Nothing happening as of now, so I'm thinking 6 EST, 11 GMT.

[coyote]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')teorn, which is based in Dublin, claims to have discovered a method of creating clean, constant energy, which it claims could end the global fuel crisis.

[zoidberg]

If I can buy a cell phone that never needs batteries or charging, then I'll believe it.

The temptation to believe is strong though. Maybe thats they're ace in the hole in this magic trick.

[bobcousins]

The demo has been postponed until tomorrow, due to "technical difficulties". The technical difficulty is that the device does not work.

There is a webcam of the device (camera 3), but it is not moving.

The Steorn device is just another in a long line of people who think they can get something for nothing - and make a buck in the process.

[gg3]

A few years ago I was part of a working group on sustainable energy that investigated a bunch of these types of device claims. I never saw evidence of anything that actually worked. Most of them were well-intentioned mistakes, some of them were deliberate fakes.

There is a basis in theory for "zero-point energy," but the empirical results (the good ones, e.g. Bell Labs) have tended to support the conclusion that it's not practical to extract more than a tiny amount of energy, by which is meant just about enough to register on sensitive instruments but that's all.

You want "free" energy try this: get a static electric motor and hook it up to some very light plastic fan blades. It might be enough for a weak desk fan, though you could probably do better with a single small photovoltaic and a conventional DC motor, even powered by ambient room light.

As for Steorn: Add me to the chorus of doubters. Though I suppose there's one good thing to come of this: it's further proof that Ireland is truly a hightech economy. Seriously: technology-frauds are a classic side-effect of an economy that's going full speed ahead on technology.

[JRP3]

The device broke and the demo was canceled until a future date. I'd call it a scam but I don't see anyway the "scammers" could make any money from this fiasco. They had to spend money to rent out the space for 10 days. Bizarre.
http://www.steorn.com/forum/comments.ph ... e=1#Item_0

[Madpaddy]

Madpaddy hides his head in shame.

A national embarrassment is what this is.

My underwater hairdryer will hopefully be much more successful.

[bobcousins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JRP3', 'I')'d call it a scam but I don't see anyway the "scammers" could make any money from this fiasco. They had to spend money to rent out the space for 10 days.

[Judgie]

You might find this interesting:
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=40874

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')Top engineer meets maker of free energy

Tells him not to give up the day job

By Nick Farrell: Tuesday 10 July 2007, 08:29
PROFESSOR Sir Eric Ash, electrical engineer and former rector of Imperial College London met the inventor of a device which it is claimed will give the world free energy.

According to the BBC, Ash liked Sean McCarthy, a software engineer, who he thought genuinely believed that he had come up with something new. His "Orbo", is a mechanical device which uses powerful magnets on the rim of a rotor and further magnets on an outer shell. McCarthy believes the beast gives an unlimited supply of energy. Ash said that while the device looked too good to be true it was not not conclusive evidence that it wasn't.

He was all set to attend McCarthy's much publicised and ultimately cancelled event. McCarthy agreed to talk to Ash, where he admitted that he had no idea how his device actually worked.

Ash wrote that McCarthy was suffering from a prolonged case of self deception. He ended his chat with McCarthy by telling him to drop his drop Orbo and get back to software engineering.

"It would not have been unreasonable had he then grabbed me by the collar and thrown me out of the window. He did none of these things and was totally genial," said Ash.

More here. µ

[duinneeile]

if you did have a way of producing free energy what would be the best way to go about selling the idea, does anyone know of any serious companys that do research in this field